Stop the FDA’s escalating war on kratom

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In this Sept. 27, 2017 photo, kratom capsules are displayed in Albany, N.Y. U.S. health authorities say kratom, a herbal supplement promoted as an alternative pain remedy, contains the same chemicals found in opioids, the addictive family of drugs at the center of a national drug abuse crisis. The Food and Drug Administration analysis, published Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, makes it more likely that kratom could be banned by the federal government. (AP Photo/Mary Esch, File)

Editor’s note: Breaking views are thoughts from individual members of the editorial board on today’s headlines.

Drug warriors at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have stepped up their efforts to demonize and control kratom, a plant safely used for hundreds of years by millions of people for pain relief.

On Feb. 21, the FDA issued a news release calling on “all companies currently involved in the sale of products containing kratom intended for human consumption” to stop selling kratom products.

“To protect the public health, we’ll continue to affirm the risks associated with kratom, warn consumers against its use and take aggressive enforcement action against kratom-containing products,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.

The announcement comes just two weeks after the FDA issued a statement claiming that 44 deaths have been attributed to kratom use, a claim which has beenwidelyshown to be false. All but one of the 44 deaths had significant other issues at play, including suicide, other health issues and polydrug use. The FDA has failed to provide data on the remaining death.

The FDA has also shamelessly attempted to play upon public misconceptions of opioids by touting evidence that “compounds contained in kratom are opioids” in order to then attribute to kratom all the potentially negative risks of opioids, including “risks of abuse, overdose and, in some cases, death.”

As scary as all of that sounds, there is no evidence kratom is linked to widespread abuse, overdose and death. The public should not fall for such blatant fear-mongering.

The announcement does come, though, at a time when kratom has been linked to an outbreak of salmonella, which has sickened 28 people and hospitalized 11, 8 of whom reported using kratom. The FDA argues the outbreak “underscores the risk that harmful bacteria may contaminate these products when not subjected to manufacturing controls to eliminate that risk, in addition to the overall safety concerns for kratom itself.”

In response, the American Kratom Association has issued a statement condemning the FDA’s approach to kratom, pointing out not only the false association the FDA has drawn between kratom and fatalities and addiction, but the FDA’s exaggerated representation of the salmonella outbreak.

“Why should American kratom vendors voluntarily recall and ‘destroy’ all kratom supplements as the FDA suggests because of this fractional number of cases involving potential salmonella contamination?” the AKA asks.

Instead of barring access to kratom, AKA argues the focus should be on “appropriate product regulation to ensure safety and purity standards for kratom-based supplement.” That’s a far more reasonable compromise balancing what legitimate safety concerns there could be about kratom with the widespread demand for it.

Whether the FDA or Drug Enforcement Administration, which has tried banning kratom entirely, can go for reasonable compromises remains to be seen.

The fact is, though, that people across the country can attest to the fact that kratom works for them. In response to a recent piece of mine on this issue, people across the country wrote to me sharing their experiences with the plant, which has apparently helped many people get pain relief without the negative effects of prescription opioids or NSAIDs.

The idea that some government bureaucrats can feel justified in condemning people to pain and suffering out of their own misplaced sense of righteousness seems absurd to me. Hopefully enough people speak up to prevent yet another federal trampling of personal freedom.

AKA is circulating a petition to President Trump to “direct the FDA and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) to research how kratom can best be used as both an alternative pain management therapy and a potential step-down from opioid addiction” and stop the criminalization of kratom. I encourage supporters of personal freedom to sign on and oppose the unwarranted misinformation campaign of the FDA and DEA.

Sal Rodriguez is an editorial writer and columnist for the Southern California News Group. He may be reached at salrodriguez@scng.com

Sal Rodriguez joined the Editorial Board in 2014. He got his start in journalism investigating the abuse of solitary confinement in American prisons and jails with Solitary Watch, and has been published by a variety of publications including The Guardian and Mother Jones. He is a graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon.